Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

I've had several request for my pizza dough recipe, so I thought I should share it on here as well! My family has always made pizza at home. When we would have slumber parties, making our own pizza was always one of the favorite activities. Now that I'm married to a New Yorker, and a true pizza snob, we have to make pizza at home because he refuses to eat it from anywhere else! Did I mention we're in Florida, only a thousand miles or so away from any good pizza! My New Yorker is also carb conscious, so we try to do whole wheat whenever possible. I've had some pretty awful whole wheat pizza dough, and I'm proud to say mine is not awful! Try it, and let me know what you think!

Wicked Good Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast ( I use Fleischman's )

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp seasoned salt

1 tsp garlic powder*

1 tablespoon finely chopped Basil*

dash oregano*

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

*these are optional, but I think the flavor really pushes it over the top so it's not just plain whole wheat dough. If I were you I would consider it necessary! :o)

In 2 cup measuring cup, put 1 1/2 cups of your hottest tap water and sprinkle 1 tablespoon on yeast over top/ Let set for Ten minutes while preparing the rest of the dough.

In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour 1 cup of the all purpose flour and everything else except the oil and water. Mix well. Create a well in the middle of the flour add olive oil to the center, and then pour in the water with the proofed yeast. Mix until the dough starts to come together.

At this point I think hands are necessary. Get your hands in there, and knead the dough, adding a little bit at a time of the extra half cup of all purpose flour. knead until the dough ball is is smooth and not sticky.

Cover loosely until doubled in size, about an hour

When dough is doubled, divided into 2 pieces for two thinner crusts, or leave whole to make one thick crust. We also divide the dough and freeze one ball for another day. The on dough ball is the perfect size for the 2 of us to share!

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out dough to desired shape. We like to use our pizza stone for a crispy crust. Place the rolled out dough in the oven for 5 minutes, take it out and flip it over. This ensures that the dough gets cooked all the way through. Once flipped add pizza toppings of your choice (We enjoy Turkey Pepperoni!) Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted, and enjoy!

Sensational Charro Beans

The credit for this recipe has to go to my sister. Jay and I made them for Christmas, and have been thinking about them ever since. They are so good, you might just want to eat beans for weeks!

Tashie's Terrific Charro Beans

1 lb Pinto beans rinsed)

1 bunch Cilantro

1 can Rotel

1 can diced Tomatoes

1 med Onion chopped

6 oz Bacon/ salt pork

1 clove Garlic minced

chicken bullion

Sautee bacon and onions until onions are translucent. Add Garlic and beans stirring well. Cover with water and add a few tablespoons of chicken bullion. Allow to simmer for an hour over medium heat. You may need to add additional water so that beans have a soup-like consistency. After an hour, add tomatoes, Rotel, and cilantro. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer until beans are soft. Serve as a soup, over rice, or with cornbread. These beans get even better the next day!

I really really love green sauce!

I honestly can't remember how far back this fascination goes, but I do remember making up songs about this wonderful sauce with my high school friends! That was about Casa Ole green sauce. Since then I have found a superior green sauce at Los Cucos. It is always the first place we eat as soon as the plane touches down in Houston, and the last place we eat before getting back on board. The waiters know to bring larger bowls of the heavenly sauce to us so as to cut down their trips to the table! My recipe may not be exact, but it's as close as I can get! I've tried to jot down exact measurements, but one thing you'll learn from reading my blog is that I rely a lot on my taste buds, and not so much on a recipe. I'll give you my best estimate, and you may have to tweak it a little until it tastes just right to you! Tonight I will be using this sauce to cover my chicken ranch enchiladas! That recipe will come later! I will get some pictures up soon...

Annie's Green Sauce

8-10 tomatillos

1 large onion

1 jalapeno (2 for spicier, I like mine mild. I also remove all the seeds)

2 garlic cloves

3 avocados

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon cumin

1 whole bunch cilantro

salt to taste

Put tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a roasting pan. drizzle a little olive oil salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until tomatillos burst.

Place contents of roasting pan in your food processor. add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. This makes quite a bit of green sauce, but that never seems to be a problem around here!

Serve with chips! My mom enjoys green sauce with her eggs; would make an excellent addition to a breakfast burrito!